As COVID-19 cases spike this winter, several countries have imposed lockdowns that include closing bookstores. But this time, in France, the government has prohibited supermarkets from selling non-essential products, including books, “as a matter of fairness” to specialty retailers. In Germany, a less-restrictive lockdown allows bookstores to remain open as long as not too many people are inside the store. England’s non-essential retail lockdown goes through Dec. 2, and while it covers bookstores, pickup is allowed. James Daunt, head of Waterstones in the UK, believes “click and collect” (ordering online and picking up in store) is a huge positive for bookstores and a possible game changer for the business, enabling stores to remain open and booksellers employed.
Meanwhile, Brexit inches closer for the UK, and worries persist over an increase in costs and a disrupted supply chain, especially for smaller, independent publishers that don’t have the resources of large, global ones.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
